All offseason, the buzz surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett was rather loud — and rightfully so.
Pickett closed his rookie season in impressive fashion, leading the Steelers to a 7-2 record in the second half of the season while mounting four fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives.
Then, he looked even better in minicamp, OTAs and even training camp, before putting together quite the impressive preseason in three showings: 13-of-15, 199 yards, two touchdowns.
He’s generated quite the hype for himself entering the 2023 season and has increased expectations in the process. Yet, when it comes to quarterback rankings within the league, Pickett remains on the outside looking in on the top 20. Pickett landed at No. 21 in the 33rd Team’s QB Power Rankings Wednesday. He also landed at No. 26 in The Ringer’s QB rankings on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Pickett found himself at No. 23 in NFL.com’s weekly QB Index, compiled by analyst Nick Shook this season. Pickett is behind names like Las Vegas’ Jimmy Garoppolo and New England’s Mac Jones outside of the top 20, not to mention Chicago’s Justin Fields and even Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson inside the top 20.
“If the preseason — I know, be sure to bring your salt shaker — is any indication, I believe Pickett will climb in Year 2. The general sentiment coming from Western Pennsylvania is that he is a different guy in 2023, and his on-field production in the preseason matched it. But the regular season is a different animal,” Shook writes regarding Pickett’s ranking in the QB Index. “There’s plenty of reason for encouragement. Coordinator Matt Canada could escape the scrutiny of frustrated Steelers fans by getting aggressive with Pickett, George Pickens and a retooled Steelers offense that should be better in 2023. After spending the last three seasons rarely pushing the ball downfield, the Steelers have done more of it with their starters in the preseason. Pickett has looked good — really good — to this point, inspiring visions of spectacular touchdown strikes.”
There is no denying how good Pickett looked in the preseason. He was sharp right from the first snap against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and looked like a completely different quarterback from the one he was in the second half of the season as a rookie — in a positive way.
Pickett has talked all offseason about taking ownership of the offense and being more comfortable and confident within the scheme. That was on display throughout training camp and the preseason. That confidence rubs off on his young offensive teammates, too, which has Pittsburgh riding high coming out of the preseason on the offensive side of the football.
That confident offense will receive a very tough test in Week One against the San Francisco 49ers at Acrisure Stadium. Should Pickett and the Steelers look like they did in the preseason against the 49ers, Pickett’s ranking in Shook’s QB Index is going to look silly.
For now though, there appears to be some belief in Pickett from the national media, but with the need to see it in real games before fully buying in.
